Claims
- 1. A molded polymeric container that is shaped to exhibit superior characteristics of light weighting, stability against toppling, and resistance to stress cracking, comprising:a substantially cylindrical body portion having a longitudinal axis and a circumferential sidewall; and a bottom portion having a maximum radius RBASE and comprising: a central pushup area having a radius RG; a plurality of support feet surrounding and protruding downwardly from the central pushup area, each of the support feet having a bottom support surface that includes a radially innermost point and a radially outermost point, the radially outermost points of the plurality of support feet collectively defining an outer radius ROC; and a plurality of ribs positioned in valleys between the support feet, each of the ribs being positioned between and defining at least a portion of two of the support feet, at least one of the ribs having a localized radius of curvature RC that intersects a circle connecting the radially innermost points of the support feet, wherein the radius RG is within a range of approximately 16% to approximately 26% of the outer radius ROC.
- 2. The container recited in claim 1, wherein:the localized radius of curvature RC defines an angle αIC with respect to the longitudinal axis; the at least one of the ribs has a localized radius of curvature RCG that intersects an outer boundary of the central pushup area, the localized radius of curvature RCG defining an angle αG with respect to the longitudinal axis; and the value of the angle αIC minus the value of the angle αG is within a range of approximately 16° to approximately 30°.
- 3. The container recited in claim 1, wherein the radius RG is within a range of approximately 18% to approximately 24% of the outer radius ROC.
- 4. The container recited in claim 2, wherein the value of the angle αIC minus the value of the angle αG is within a range of approximately 18° to approximately 22°.
- 5. The container recited in claim 1, wherein the outer radius ROC is at least approximately 70% of the radius RBASE.
- 6. The container recited in claim 1, wherein the outer radius ROC is within a range of approximately 72% to approximately 75% of the radius RBASE.
- 7. The container recited in claim 1, wherein a radius of each rib varies along a length of the rib.
- 8. The container recited in claim 1, wherein the bottom portion has a dimension hOC that is defined as the height of the rib directly above the outer radius ROC, and hoc=Π·Rbase·Sin βn·(1-Cos β)·(A-RocRbase)where n=the number of feet in the bottom; and A=a ring index having a value within a range of approximately 0.9 to approximately 1.15.
- 9. The container recited in claim 8, wherein the ring index A is within a range of approximately 70% to approximately 110% of the radius RBASE.
- 10. The container recited in claim 1, wherein the localized radius of curvature RC is within a range of approximately 70% to approximately 130% of the radius RBASE.
- 11. The container recited in claim 1, wherein the localized radius of curvature RC is within a range of approximately 70% to approximately 110% of the radius RBASE.
- 12. A molded polymeric container that is shaped to exhibit superior characteristics of light weighting, stability against toppling, and resistance to stress cracking, comprising:a substantially cylindrical body portion having a longitudinal axis and a circumferential sidewall; and a bottom portion having a maximum radius RBASE and comprising: a central pushup area having a radius RG; a plurality of support feet surrounding and protruding downwardly from the central pushup area, each of the support feet having a bottom support surface that includes a radially innermost point and a radially outermost point, the radially outermost points of the plurality of support feet collectively defining an outer radius ROC; and a plurality of ribs positioned in valleys between the support feet, each of the ribs being positioned between and defining at least a portion of two of the support feet, at least one of the ribs having a localized radius of curvature RC that intersects a circle connecting the radially innermost points of the support feet, wherein the localized radius of curvature RC is within a range of approximately 70% to approximately 130% of the radius RBASE.
- 13. The container recited in claim 12, wherein the localized radius of curvature RC is within a range of approximately 70% to approximately 110% of the radius RBASE.
- 14. The container recited in claim 12, wherein:the localized radius of curvature RC defines an angle αIC with respect to the longitudinal axis; the at least one of the ribs has a localized radius of curvature RCG that intersects an outer boundary of the central pushup area, the localized radius of curvature RCG defining an angle αG with respect to the longitudinal axis; and the value of the angle αIC minus the value of the angle αG is within a range of approximately 16° to approximately 30°.
- 15. The container recited in claim 14, wherein the value of the angle αIC minus the value of the angle αG is within a range of approximately 18° to approximately 22°.
- 16. The container recited in claim 12, wherein the outer radius ROC is at least approximately 70% of the radius RBASE.
- 17. The container recited in claim 12, wherein the outer radius ROC is within a range of approximately 72% to approximately 75% of the radius RBASE.
- 18. The container recited in claim 12, wherein a radius of each rib varies along a length of the rib.
- 19. The container recited in claim 12, wherein the bottom portion has a dimension hOC that is defined as the height of the rib directly above the outer radius ROC, and hoc=Π·Rbase·Sin βn·(1-Cos β)·(A-RocRbase)where n=the number of feet in the bottom; and A=a ring index having a value within a range of approximately 0.9 to approximately 1.15.
- 20. The container recited in claim 19, wherein the ring index A is within a range of approximately 70% to approximately 110% of the radius RBASE.
- 21. The container recited in claim 12, wherein the localized radius of curvature RC is within a range of approximately 85% to approximately 100% of the radius RBASE.
- 22. A molded polymeric container that is shaped to exhibit superior characteristics of light weighting, stability against toppling, and resistance to stress cracking, comprising:a substantially cylindrical body portion having a longitudinal axis and a circumferential sidewall; and a bottom portion comprising: a central pushup area; a plurality of support feet surrounding and protruding downwardly from the central pushup area; and a plurality of ribs positioned in valleys between the support feet, each of the ribs being positioned between and defining at least a portion of two of the support feet, at least one of the ribs having a localized radius of curvature RC that intersects a circle connecting the radially innermost points of the support feet, wherein: the localized radius of curvature RC defines an angle αIC with respect to the longitudinal axis; the at least one of the ribs has a localized radius of curvature RCG that intersects an outer boundary of the central pushup area, the localized radius of curvature RCG defining an angle αG with respect to the longitudinal axis; and the value of the angle αIC minus the value of the angle αG is within a range of approximately 16° to approximately 30°.
- 23. The container recited in claim 22, wherein the value of the angle αIC minus the value of the angle αG is within a range of approximately 18° to approximately 22°.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/113,586 filed Jul. 10, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,416.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/113586 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/444982 |
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US |